The Twelve Stones (37 page)

Siobhan felt the bile at the back of her throat
.
S
he
leaned back against the rock she was hiding behind and took out the mysterious stone the stranger had given her. Staring at it, she prayed to it, asking for strength and fury to
destroy
all the Englishmen who were torturing her brother and had killed her family.

For some reason, the stories her brother use to tell her before bedtime kept coming to mind. After Seamus would return from a long trip, Siobhan would beg him to hear the scary tales about frightening creatures like the “Kraken,” a sea creature of incredible power
,
or the enormous fire
-
breathing dragons that used to torture ancient England. Those creatures were nearly invulnerable
,
as the stories would go, and every time, Siobhan would pretend to be scared, only to laugh uproariously with her brother when he would tickle her at the scariest part of the tale.

As she prayed, she kept her eyes closed for so long
, she almost didn’t see the stone begin to flash. The purple light extend
ed
out from the stone and cover
ed
her tiny
eleven
-
year
-
old body. Tough flaky green scales
grew
on her arms
and
legs, then spread even quicker.

Her arms extended into vast claws, her nose a long snout, which felt hot to the touch.
She gave a little scream, and
the scales began to retreat until Siobhan realized what the stone was doing.

It was turning her into a dragon.

Once she realized what was happening, she relaxed, and the change
spread
quickly.

It had been a tough day for Seamus. He had left his sister with the intention of returning only a few hours later with provisions for their travel. Even though he tried to keep his head down and nose clean, those English bastards outside the pub wouldn’t leave him alone and had intentionally tripped him. He put up a good fight, that much was certain
;
five soldiers down, all unlikely to ever fight for King
or
country again.

The torture had been painful
.
T
he
beatings had started a few hours ago, and only stopped when they had decided to round up the
ir
prisoners and burn them for sport.

Seamus was in a lot of physical pain, but it was nothing compared to how he felt when he thought about what might happen to his sister without him. He swore to himself that after he was dead, he’d be her guardian angel.

Another vicious kick to his head, and lights exploded in his
skull
. He laughed
.
I
t
didn’t matter how much they hurt him now. He was free.

“
What? Did they invite me mother to take a shot or two?” Seamus called out weakly, “I’ve got a few bumps and bruises, but I’ll still gladly take you to task if you want to try and be a man.”

The soldiers sneered and laughed, and began to kick him even harder. Seamus curled up in a ball, hoping it would all be over soon. After the last kick, Seamus rolled on his back, coughing violently, as blood poured out of his mouth and nose. He stared at the stars, watching them go in and out of focus. He could just barely make out The Hunter, the first constellation he taught Siobhan when she was old enough to learn.

Suddenly, screams began echoing across the camp, and a large dark figure flew over Seamus’ vision. Through watery eyes he stared at the sky, unable to turn and see what was happening. The screams of pai
n, the shouts of anger and fear;
he just didn’t care anymore.

He wondered for a moment if there were stars in the afterlife.

The dragon that had descended on the English camp didn’t give any of them much of a chance. The mythical beast used its massive claws to tear the English soldiers stupid enough to hang around in half. Fire exploded out of the dragon’s snout as the entire campground was bathed in flames.
Many
of t
he
soldiers retreated in fear
,
and the rest were torn and shred
ded
to tiny bits of flesh. Before long, there was nothing left alive in the camp save for the beaten and bound Irish prisoners.

The dragon landed heavily on the ground of the camp
.
Siobhan quickly returned to her human form and raced over to Seamus, hoping against hope that he was still alive.

“
Siobhan,” he said weakly, smiling at his little sister crouched over him, “you’re alive. That’s good. That’s very good.”

His head fell down into her lap, and then he was gone.

She grabbed his head and cradled it in her arms as she wailed, the valley echoing with her cries. Her brother, the only family she had left
,
was gone
.
S
he had been too late.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alex and Scott sat wide eyed as Siobhan finished her tale. Scott cleared his throat and
looked away. Alex pretended not to notice his friend
wipe away a tear.

“You were only eleven?” Scott asked in a small voice.

“Young age to have to grow up so quick
,
” Siobhan replied sadly.

“It’s a tough world out there…it can wear on you quick…” Alex said, thinking of Emily
,
“
i
f you let it.”

Siobhan looked out the window and
continu
ed
her story.

“I traveled the world after that. I shifted my form countless times, witnessing history as it occurred.

“I was there on Columbus’s maiden voyage, a fly on the wall of
P
arliament during some of the most controversial first days, I watched as the Declaration of Independence was signed, stood guard over the Treaty of Versailles, and watched from the stratosphere as the first atomic bomb exploded over New Mexico.”

“There isn’t much you’ve missed
,
then
,
is there?” Scott asked dryly.

“It’s been so long since I
was given
the stone, I don’t think I could honestly tell you where my life began, or ends. I’ve known hundreds of lovers, famous men, civilized men, barbarians, and strangers. It’s a weird wonderful world out there, and I’ve loved every moment of it.”

“The English who destroyed your town, they never found you?” Alex asked.

She smiled knowingly, “I destroyed most of them in the initial attack
.
E
ventually
,
I found them all, and they all joined their friends over the cliffs by my small seaside town.”

Alex shivered; Siobhan must have ice running through her veins, if at eleven
,
she was capable of killing her parent’s murderers.

He
turned, looking at the speedometer on the Hypertruck.
126
miles an hour
,
and only a few hours away from their destination.

“It’s late.” Alex yawned. “We need some shut
-
eye while we can. Scott, you’ll babysit the controls overnight
,
right?”

Scott bristled at the suggestion. “Automatic pilot is on and running
,
dude
;
there’s no need for…”

“Just humor me
,
all right?” Alex
interrupted
. Turning back to Siobhan
,
he smiled
.
“Thanks for helping us out tonight.”

“Understand that you and I are only temporary allies while I still judge if you’re worthy of hanging onto that stone.” Her purple stone, dangling from her ear
,
flashed
.
“I get the feeling or idea you’re out to screw me and take my stone, and I will cut you up quicker than a butcher on Sunday.”

Scott frowned, leaning his head back to Siobhan
.
“Quicker
than a butcher on Sunday? What does that even mean?”

She was looking intently at Alex, but Scott’s question distracted her. “What? No, it’s just an expression…”

“I mean, who’s to say that Sunday is any busier of a day for a butcher than any other?” Scott asked
.
“It’s just as likely that my family would want a nice set of ribs on Tuesday, as opposed to Sunday….although, I guess I can see buying stuff for a bar-be-que on Friday, for a Saturday or Sunday thing or whatever…”

“Scott!” Alex interjected
;
if he didn’t stop his friend now, he’d probably go on all night
.

Scott nodded thoughtfully before continuing.

“Best Bar-be-que has to be ribs, no doubt, with a nice heaping helping of homemade sauce…”

“Scott! Seriously, shut up!”

“But…”

Alex lost it. “Get this kid some food! Anything to let me sleep
,
for Pete’s sake!”

Sulking, Scott turned back to the controls. “I’m hungry. Can’t a guy talk about food without getting yelled at?”

“SHUT UP!” This time, Siobhan got in on the action, her face transforming for a moment into a lion’s head that roared in Scott’s yammering face.

Scott swallowed nervously, “I’ll be good. A few hours to Hat Creek
;
I’ll
,
uhh…get something there.”

Primly, Siobhan’s face transformed back into the beautiful blonde with thick curls, as Scott settled back into his chair. “Excellent,
” she said,
“
because I’m getting hungry too, and there’d be little point to my eating you while you’re still hungry.”

Alex couldn’t
keep
himself
from
laughing at Scott as the Hypertruck flew north, alone on the dark highway.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Geoffrey cried out, pushing with every ounce of strength available, trying to move the
huge
column off his arm. It was no use. The column was simply too massive to budge.

Kline’s frustrated bodyguard raised his head and stared intently at the rest of his trapped body, checking for damage and anything he could possibly use to escape. Incredibly, with the exception of his trapped appendage, his body felt intact. Even the bruises on his chest, received earlier that night under his bulletproof vest
,
were no longer throbbing.

Looking around, he swore out loud. Again
,
he had failed Mr. Kline and lost the man from the desert. The anger bubbled up and covered the pain from the immense weight on his arm.

He turned his body and methodically began looking for a way to free hi
mself
. The bone didn't feel broken
,
thankfully
;
he was just pinned. He positioned himself closer to the column, bracing his feet against the ground.
Though he pushed
with all his strength, the marble column barely moved, and his arm throbbed as he cried out in pain.
With h
is heart pounding, he forced himself to calm down to think his situation through.

T
he experience with McCray’s mysterious stone repeated over and over in his mind’s eye. If Geoffrey managed to escape, things were going to be different between Kline and him. There was something much bigger going on
,
and Geoffrey was beginning
to
understand
that
Kline had a much larger goal in mind than he
had
previously thought.

He glanced at the Suburban the team had brought with them from Joshua Tree. The heavy SUV was tipping precariously to one side, a result of having both of the tires on its right side shot out. Squinting, Geoffrey sighed and laid his head back on the cold concrete ground. He was unable to contain his growing respect for the young Alex McCray
.
Geoffrey struggled to think of how he might get himself free before the police could show up. In the distance, several red and blue lights twinkled, and the faint sound of a police siren began to ring in Geoffrey’ ears. He shifted his weight and attempted to make himself more comfortable.

H
e could afford to wait for the authorities
, he thought
. They’d likely take him into custody
,
barrage
him with a series of questions –
to which
,
of course, he would say nothing, confident
that
at any moment, Kline would send an army of lawyers to his defense. He wouldn’t have to suffer the indignity of jail for long.